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Uttarakhand Disaster

Uttarakhand's path to devastation a natural calamity or a result of industrialisation? (The hill state of Uttarakhand…)

India's go-to person for tourism, the man who branded Kerala as "God's own country", and turned the southern state into one of the busiest tourist destinations in the country, simply cannot come to terms with the devastation in Uttarakhand.

Amitabh Kant, who is credited with pioneering tourism marketing in India, believes the tragedy is because of a significant error of judgement of the state authorities. "Uttarakhand should not have taken the path of industrialisation for development and should have been developed as the best destination for sustainable tourism in the world. States must focus on their core competence; not every state should industrialise." It's difficult not to agree with Kant after seeing images of the hill state that has been ravaged by floods. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed and at the time of writing as many as 1,400 were still stranded.(On Saturday, the Uttarakhand assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said the death toll could cross 10,000.) Rescue efforts have been hampered by incessant rains and the tough mountain terrain. Even as television channels beamed horrific visuals of the calamity, the debate on whether the industrialisation of the hill state had contributed to the disaster turned into a face-off between environmentalists and the chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, who claimed the tragedy was a natural calamity.

"This is a very childish argument that cloudbursts, earthquakes and tsunamis are because of human factors. In the history of hundreds of years of Kedarnath, no such incident has taken place. In a Himalayan state, this catastrophe has come about in 37,000 square miles of area. This cloudburst, 330 millimetres of rain, cannot be anticipated," Bahuguna said in an interview to Times of India. Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment, is one of the many environmentalists who believe the total opposite - that the disaster in Uttarakhand is "as much man-made as it is natural. Any development strategy that is not environmentally sound will become more disastrous and more tragic. All this means that we cannot afford to get development wrong." RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Kant, an IAS officer, agrees with the environmentalist brigade. According to him, deforestation is the cause for the flooding and the only way forward is for the state to adopt a strategy of responsible tourism. Even if the state were to slow down industrialisation and was to focus on tourism, it would have to totally change its vision for the sector. Most of the tourists who visit the hill state do so for religious reasons and visit shrines in Badrinath and Kedarnath. Kant's formula for growth for the state is clear-cut: spell out a vision for preserving the ecology and heritage of the state and follow it up by aggressively chalking out a marketing strategy for tourism. "They should develop high-value tourism that will enable the state to raise substantial revenues through the sector. The mass religious tourism has now become garbage tourism, with people spoiling the beauty of the hills, and it needs to be regulated," says Kant. At the same time the government should curtail mining, constructions and big power projects that require cutting trees and blasting through the mountains. "No hotel should be taller than the tallest trees in the area and construction should conform to local culture and the design too should be indigenous." Kant is the first one to admit that these ideas do sound utopian and there may be people who would still be dismissive about discouraging industrialisation. "But unless such measures are taken, I am afraid all our hill destinations are under threat; we need to start taking corrective action." Industry is quick to rubbish Kant's growth formula. ML Gupta, who runs a pre-fabricated engineering solutions company in Uttarakhand, says...

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...multi-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides in the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. Though parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in India, some regions of Western Nepal, and some parts of Western Tibet also experienced heavy rainfall, over 95% of the casualties occurred in Uttarakhand. As of 16 July 2013, according to figures provided by the Uttarakhand government, more than 5,700 people were "presumed dead." [3] This total included 934 local residents.[4]
Destruction of bridges and roads left about 100,000 pilgrims and tourists trapped in the valleys leading to three of the four Hindu Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites [5] [6][7][8] [9][10] The Indian Air Force, the Army and paramilitary troops evacuated more than 110,000 people from the flood ravaged Origin
From 14 to 17 June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining area received heavy rainfall, which was about 375 percent more than the benchmark rainfall during a normal monsoon.[12] This caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier at the height of 3800 metres, and eruption of the Mandakini River[13] which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat,Kedar Dome,Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal, and acute rainfall in other nearby regions of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of...

...Uttarakhand Floods: A Disaster of Our Own Making?
Even after two weeks of rescue operations uncertainty prevails over the number of casualties and people still stuck in what is described as the worst natural disaster that has ever struck the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Chief Minister of the mountainous state, Vijay Bahuguna, says that the exact number of deaths in the calamity will never be known as estimates of the actual casualties vary from hundreds to several thousands.
One senior official claims that thedeath toll could exceed 10,000. According to state officials, 3,000 people are still missing from the region.
Most of the victims identified so far have been outsiders who were on the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage to Uttarkhand’s shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri, which takes place between May and November. This is one of the reasons that the tragedy in the tiny state has impacted the whole nation.
During peak season every year hordes of pilgrims come from across India and abroad to visit hilly pilgrimage centers accessible only by small roads, which believers travel with the help of mules. For Hindus, the journey to the four shrines carries a similar level of importance as Haj does for Muslims.
The inaccessibility of the terrain and breakdown in communication made it difficult to assess the enormity of the damage in the first few days after...

...﻿A Recent happening in Uttarakhand
The extreme rains of June16 2013 lead to a disaster of unpreceded proportions in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Many theories & explanations for the disaster have surfaced in the aftermath of the floods in the state. Now clearer satellite images of the upstream & downstream areas of the Kedar Valley that have emerged are enabling a clearer understanding of the scientific & environmental reasons for the tragedy in the state.
The Kedarnath valley, along with and other parts of the state of Uttarakhand, was hit with unprecedented flash floods on 16 and 17June 2013 almost after 80 years. The temple itself suffered some damage but was still standing. However a portion of the temple complex was washed away and the Kedarnath town was nearly destroyed in the deluge along with hundreds of devotees.
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on 19th June 2013 announced that the Kedarnath shrine will remain closed for a year for clearing the debris around the shrine. The death count is assumed to be thousands as the conditions in Kedar valley are very adverse.
Kedarnath land is actually situated on a river bed of Mandakini River.
Kedarnath shrine was under snow for 400 years
Scientists claim that Kedarnath temple was under snow for almost 400 years and say that most of the people are unaware of this fact. According to scientists of Wadia Institute of...

...of fodder; Only now, they are proving, that they are no less than men, where technical skills and physical stamina are of vital importance.
Radha Behn (Radha Bhatt)
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Born on 16 October 1934 in village Dhuraka, Almora, Radha Behn has made exemplary contribution in the fields of women’s education and employment. She quit formal education after her intermediate in 1951, and joined Sarla Behn at her Laxmi Ashram in Kausani, to undertake social work. From 1957 to 1961 she was active in Bhoodan Yatra and toured various regions of Uttarakhand. She took active part in movements against mining, alcoholism and deforestation. For her contributions to social empowerment she was honored with Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 1992. She has authored several books and articles.
Gaura Pant ‘Shivani’
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Gaura Pant (Shivani) holds a prominent place amongst the women writers of Uttarakhand. She was born on 17th October, 1923 in Rajkot, Gujarat to a Kumouni family. After her early education in Almora she was sent to Allahabad for higher education, and then she went to Shantiniketan where she had the fortune of academic enrichment under the tutelage of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Right from her childhood she had a flair for writing. Embedded in the folk culture of Kumaon she conveyed the yearning if common man and woman in and their inter-relationship in her writings. In 1935, Shivani’s first story was...

...The Uttarakhand Tragedy
In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides in the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. Though some parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in India, some regions of Western Nepal, and some parts of Western Tibet also experienced heavy rainfall, over 95% of the casualties occurred in Uttarakhand. As of 16 July 2013, according to figures provided by the Uttarakhand government, more than 5,700 people were "presumed dead."] This total included 934 local residents.
Destruction of bridges and roads left about 100,000 pilgrims and tourists trapped in the valleys leading to three of the four Hindu Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites The Indian Air Force, the Indian Army, and paramilitary troops evacuated more than 110,000 people from the flood ravaged area.
From 14 to 17 June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining area received heavy rainfall, which was about 375 percent more than the benchmark rainfall during a normal monsoon.[12] This caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier at the height of 3800 metres, and eruption of theMandakini River[13] which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat, Kedar Dome, Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal, and acute rainfall in other nearby regions of Delhi,...

...﻿UttarakhandDisaster
In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides in the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. Though some parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi andUttar Pradesh in India, some regions of Western Nepal, and some parts of Western Tibet also experienced heavy rainfall, over 95% of the casualties occurred in Uttarakhand. As of 16 July 2013, according to figures provided by the Uttarakhand government, more than 5,700 people were "presumed dead. The Indian Air Force, the Indian Army, and paramilitary troops evacuated more than 110,000 people from the flood ravaged area.
Origin
From 14 to 17 June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining areas received heavy rainfall, which was about 375 percent more than the benchmark rainfall during a normal monsoon.[12] This caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier at the height of 3800 metres, and eruption of the Mandakini River[13] which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat, Kedar Dome,Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal, and acute rainfall in other nearby regions of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Tibet.
Heavy rainfall for four consecutive days as well as melting snow aggravated the floods. Warnings by the India Meteorological...

...﻿DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE
The disaster cycle or the disaster life cycle consists of the steps that emergency managers take in planning for and responding to disasters. Each step in the disaster cycle correlates to part of the ongoing cycle that is emergency management. This disaster cycle is used throughout the emergency management community, from the local to the national and international levels.
Preparedness
The first step of the disaster cycle is usually considered to be preparedness although one could start at any point in the cycle and return to that point before, during, or after a disaster. For the sake of understanding, we will start with preparedness. Prior to a disaster’s occurrence, emergency manager will plan for various disasters which could strike within the area of responsibility. For instance, a typical city located along a river would need to plan for not only flooding but also hazardous material accidents, large fires, extreme weather (perhaps tornadoes, hurricanes, and/or snowstorms), geologic hazards (perhaps earthquakes, tsunamis, and/or volcanoes), and other applicable hazards. The emergency manager learns about past disasters and current potential hazards and then begins to collaborate with other officials to write a disaster plan for the jurisdiction with appendices for specific hazards or...

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Could the Uttarakhand tragedy have been avoided, or at least minimised?
There is no simple answer.
Environmentalists describe the death and damages as a man-made disaster while geologists say the extent of destruction could have been far lesser if stricter regulations were in place and authorities were equipped to deal with the situation.
Importantly, the events focus attention on the debate on the December 18, 2012 notification of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which declares the entire watershed around the 135-km stretch between Gaumukh and Uttarakashi along Bhagirathi as an eco-sensitive zone under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, in practice banning all construction activities in this area, and how the State government has been opposing it stoutly, arguing that such an order will adversely affect all development activities and economic progress of the region.
The notification, if implemented, would result in the closure of hydropower projects of 1,743-MW along the Bhagirathi and a ban on mining and construction, especially hotels and resorts, and land use conversion. Power projects and mining and construction activities are the main causes of preventable environmental degradation.
The Assembly passed a resolution, and Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month to urge him to cancel the notification.
‘Calculated risk’
The former...